A waitress from Arkansas says she was fired from her job after disclosing the restaurant’s tipping policy to a group of patrons. Now, aGoFundMeestablished to support her has raised over $15,000 — and will pay it forward for others.

“I was hosting a $100 Dinner Club where each person at dinner tipped $100 to give to the servers,” Wise wrote on the GoFundMe fundraiser, adding that seeing the servers' reactions “was a beautiful moment.”

After receiving the tip,Brant told KNWAshe was informed that she would see a fraction of the gratuity, as she would have to split the tip with the rest of her co-workers — which she said was a first in her three and a half years at the restaurant.

“I was told that I was going to be giving my cash over to my shift manager, and I would be taking home 20%,” she told the outlet.

After turning over the tip, Brandt reached out to Wise about the situation, the server’s lawyer, Bill Horton, toldThe Washington Post. Wise then contacted the owners about returning the money, and then directly gave Brandt and the other services their tip.

Oven & Tap owners Mollie Mullis and Luke Wetzel said in a statement to KNWA that Brandt wasnot fired for keeping the tip money, noting that two other servers who received tips that evening — “including one who also received $2,200” — were still with the restaurant. When asked, they did not specify why Brandt was terminated.

“We’re a team at Oven & Tap, and we have always participated in a tip share, but when the guest made us aware that they wanted their generous tip to only go to the servers, we immediately honored that request, a representative for the restaurant tells PEOPLE in a statement, noting that pooling tips has “always” been the policy.

“Oven & Tap has always been committed to providing fair and quality compensation to all members of our restaurant team,” the representative said. “Our normal ‘tip out’ policy covers other team members ensuring anyone who helps make that dining experience a success (bartenders, kitchen staff, food runners, etc.) is compensated.”

Wise said in the GoFundMe description that he had called Oven & Tap in advance to clarify their tipping policy and was told that pooling protocol wasn’t the norm — however, Mullis claimed that Wisedid not ask about the policy in advance, according to KNWA

The restaurant — which claims to typically split credit card tips among employees, but allows servers to keep their full cash tips — decides how to handle tips for large parties on an individual basis, restaurant owners toldThe Washington Postthrough a spokesperson.

A representative for the restaurant also tells PEOPLE that they went on to distribute “approximately $7,000 in additional compensation to the rest of the team from that evening’s shift to ensure they know their hard work is appreciated.”

“We feel the entire staff worked so hard that night,” the representative said.

Oven & Tap’s owners have also threatened to sue Brandt, claiming she has permanently damaged the restaurant’s reputation, according toThe Washington Post.Brandt’s attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

After Brandt was fired, Wise created a GoFundMe to help support the server.

“I can’t fully understand why this would happen, especially so close to the holiday season,” he wrote on the campaign page. “What I do know is that we want to do everything we can to help this sweet woman through the holiday season and get back on her feet.”

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Brandt had since found a new serving job at another local restaurant, per the GoFundMe.

Wise briefly closed the campaign after hitting their goal, but recently reopened it in order to “pay it forward” for the next group of restaurant staff who will be tipped in the new year.

“In January, we are going to host another $100 Dinner Club and I have invited Ryan to be our ‘Guest of Honor’!” Wise announced on the campaign page.

“Any dollar amount raised over the $8,732 that has already been raised and is being paid out to Ryan will be given directly to the staff of the restaurant we decide to eat at,” the organizer added.

source: people.com